Damn Interesting

Fortress of the Assassins

This article was written by Scott Cianciosi, one of our shiny new Damn Interesting writers!

The Ruins of Alamut

The nobleman awoke on a sunny spring morning. Feeling uncomfortable, he shifted himself, only to notice an extra weight on his pillow. Groggily, he opened his eyes. The glint of a blade stared back at him, its handle leaving an indentation in the pillow’s surface. Horrified, he rushed to his guards to question them about the previous night. Confused, they assured him that nothing of note had happened. Further investigation found that the windows were securely fastened, and there were no signs of forced entry. Just as he was ready to tear the room apart, the nobleman noticed something. Tucked under his pillow was a note that simply stated, “You have been warned.”

Such an encounter may sound like bad fantasy fiction, but this was a very real fear of the rich and powerful during the first few centuries of the second millennium. Hundreds of nobles, merchants, scholars, and generals received these notes, usually delivered when the recipient was at his most vulnerable. Only the lucky ones were given the courtesy of a note, since the shadowy organization that delivered them often left their targets dead rather than merely terrified. The story of the Hashshashin, or Assassins, is cloaked in mystery, and much of the truth about them was long ago lost to war and time. Their influence, however, changed the course of history and spawned the very word we use today to describe calculated, politically-motivated murder.

The Hashshashin were formed by Hassan-i-Sabah, a follower of the Isma’ili sect of Shi’ite Islam. Hassan left his home in Cairo over a succession dispute between two heirs to the Fatimid Caliphate. After choosing the wrong heir to support, Hassan found himself escaping to Persia after spending a short period in a political prison. Determined to avenge himself upon the Fatimids while also wiping out his traditional Sunni enemies, Hassan sought and found the ideal stronghold: the fortress of Alamut, also known as “The Eagle’s Nest.” Located northwest of Tehran, just south of the Caspian Sea, Alamut was an imposing sight. Nestled atop a 2,100m mountain with only one near-vertical approach to the fortress, the Eagle’s Nest was nearly impregnable.

Hassan immediately began to gather supporters among the people near his fortress. Using lessons he gained from Cairo’s influential Abode of Learning, Hassan turned his followers into willing servants, ready to die at his beck and call. As he gained control of fortresses all over Persia, his organization grew into a “nation within a nation,” pulling strings and exerting political influence throughout the Middle East. While the Hashshashin’s aims seemed to change from year to year, one thing always remained paramount among them: keeping their enemies balanced. As long as their enemies- the Crusaders, Fatimids, and Sunnis – continued fighting each other, the Assassins could do as they pleased. Like all Shi’ites, Hassan understood that if his mainstream Islamic brothers ran out of external enemies to fight, his people would be next on the chopping block. So the Assassins spent more than a hundred years making sure they were never anyone’s greatest threat.

Hassan-i-Sabah

Only conjecture and myth remain to explain the origins of the Assassins’ name. Some theories link the name to the drug hashish, supposedly taken before battle or as initiation into the cult. A more probable competing theory is that the name is derived from the name of their leader Hassan-i-Sabah, since “Hashshashin” literally means “followers of Hassan.” The name itself was a derogatory term used by Europeans to describe the supposedly hashish-using sect. The term “assassin” most likely comes from a pet name Hassan had for his followers: Assassiyun, or “people who are faithful to the foundation of the faith.” The Assassins preferred to call themselves fedayeen. The word, Arabic for “one who is ready to sacrifice themselves for a cause,” was co-opted by groups in Palestine, Armenia, Iraq and Iran for their own organizations during numerous conflicts in the 20th century.

There are a myriad of theories as to how the Assassins actually trained their members. Some travelers posit that the members were drugged to simulate a death-like experience, and awoke in a garden surrounded by an abundance of fine food and beautiful servants. Given a taste of “heaven,” they gladly fought and died for their leader from that day forward. Another theory is that the members were taken at a young age and raised in the heavenly garden. At a certain age they were cast out, and given the ultimatum that if they disobeyed their master they would never be allowed to return. Unfortunately, most of these theories can’t be corroborated by any hard facts. These theories are further discredited by the fact that someone under the influence of hashish would not have possessed the mental capacities to carry out a calculated murder effectively. Many myths about the Assassins are derived from the writings of Marco Polo, who supposedly visited Alamut in 1273. This is quite extraordinary, as the stronghold was destroyed almost two decades earlier.

A common story about the product of Assassin training has been told in many different ways, but it always follows the same basic premise:

Two men in the year 1092 stood on the ramparts of a medieval castle – the Eagle’s Nest – perched high upon the crags of the Persian mountains: the personal representative of the Emperor and the veiled figure who claimed to be the incarnation of God on earth. Hasan, son of Sabah, Sheikh of the Mountains and leader of the Assassins, spoke: “You see that devotee standing guard on yonder turret-top? Watch!”

He made a signal. Instantly the white-robed figure threw up his hands in salutation, and cast himself two thousand feet into the foaming torrent which surrounded the fortress.

“I have seventy thousand men – and women – throughout Asia, each one of them ready to do my bidding. Can your master, Malik Shah, say the same? And he asks me to surrender to his sovereignty! This is your answer. Go!”

In some incarnations of the story, he’s speaking to a fellow Muslim; in others, he’s proving a point to a visiting Crusader. Most involve the disciple throwing himself off of something to an excessively gory death, but some simply state that the man “kills himself” when the command is given.

Eschewing weapons that allowed possible escape, the Hashshashin preferred to kill up close, with a dagger, and preferably in public. Many targets were assassinated inside a mosque during Friday prayer. Like the modern terrorist, much of the mystique of the Assassins was the fear they instilled in their enemies, and their seemingly endless pursuit of their marks. By murdering in public, they assured the story would travel quickly. It mattered little that the assassin himself, exposed and vulnerable after the attack, usually died at the hands of nearby guards; his mission was accomplished and his place in heaven sealed.

Conrad of Montferrat

The attacks themselves took many forms. Sometimes the strike came quickly, other times it involved years of work and ingratiation into the mark’s good graces. Assassins posed as pilgrims, converts, dervishes or almost any other cover that would allow them to get into close proximity to their victim. Often the most prudent course of action was to call a truce with the Assassins rather than risk being stabbed in the back by an old friend, a servant or a guard. This was Hassan’s bargaining chip, and the reason his group continued to flourish long after he was no longer their earthly leader.

The list of successful murders that can be attributed to the Assassins is long and storied. They range from local political leaders all the way up to Caliphs and Crusader Kings. At least two of Baghdad’s caliphs were murdered by the group, as well as countless attacks on their fellow Shi’ites in Cairo. They were often faulted for having worked, sometimes closely, with the Crusaders. There was even a period when the Assassins almost converted wholesale to Christianity. However, this did not mean the Crusaders themselves were off limits. Prince Edward, later King Edward I of England, was wounded by a poisoned Assassin dagger in 1271. It is also said that the Knights Hospitaller arranged for a Hashshashin blade to eliminate the Patriarch of Jerusalem, Albert Avogadro, in 1214.

One well-known assassination is the murder of Conrad of Montferrat. An apparently polarizing character, Conrad has been cast as the villain by some, and as a dashing hero by just as many others. It’s understood that he almost singlehandedly stopped Saladin from taking the Christian stronghold of Tyre and was a rallying force for the Crusaders in one of their darkest periods. Unfortunately for him, he also had many powerful enemies among his Catholic brethren.

After being unexpectedly elected King of Jerusalem, Conrad awaited his coronation in April of 1192. Six months earlier, two Assassins disguised as monks had gained employment with some important residents of Tyre, where Conrad had been living since he helped save the city. Finally seeing their chance to strike, the two men stabbed Conrad as he walked home from a friend’s house. Accounts differ on what happened afterwards. One account says that Conrad died soon after the initial attack, as his wounds were mortal. Another account states that only one of the monks attacked him and was killed by guards. The other Assassin, after hearing that Conrad was injured but still alive, managed to get close enough to him to finish the job. It’s also said that the two men dispatched to murder Conrad had allowed themselves to be baptized as Christians in order to allay suspicion and allow them more intimate contact with their mark. While it has never been proven who actually ordered Conrad’s death, almost all accounts point to a Christian source. Multiple prominent Crusaders are among the list of suspects, paramount among them Richard the Lionheart.

Even Saladin, the great Muslim general, had a brush with the Assassins. Livid over two previous attempts on his life, Saladin prepared to besiege the fortress at the Hashshashin’s main Syrian stronghold of Masyaf. However, at some point during the siege, Saladin abruptly called for negotiations with the murderous sect. Reaching an agreement, Saladin packed up his army and left, never to confront the Assassins again. No one is sure exactly what transpired between the two groups to cause such a sudden change of heart. Some say Saladin awoke one morning to a poisoned cake laying on his chest with a note attached saying, “You are in our power.” Other stories suggest his entire family was threatened with eradication.

Masyaf Castle

The subtlety, strategy and intellectual dexterity with which Hassan and his successors ruled the Assassins is almost mind-boggling in its complexity. However, when juggling politics as delicately and deftly as the Assassins had, for as long as they had, a mistake was inevitable. That mistake came midway through the 13th century. Jagati, a son of Genghis Khan and the ruler of some parts of Persia, had forbidden many rituals involving prayer and the slaughtering of animals. This greatly offended the Isma’ilis and, by association, the Hashshashin. Soon thereafter, assassins from Alamut eliminated Jagati. By 1256, the fortress was in ruins, razed to the ground by the Mongol general Hulega in an act of brutal retribution. The fortress, along with its priceless library, was completely destroyed.

The remaining Hashshashin scattered all over Asia. The Isma’ilis headed to India, Afghanistan, and the Himalayas, among other places. Even today, Isma’ili followers number in the millions and their leader, Prince Karim El Husseni, also known as Aga Khan IV, can supposedly trace his lineage all the way back to Muhammed and his brother cousin Ali. The Isma’ilis of today are, mercifully, much different from their Crusades-era brethren.

While they were still a considerably powerful group for some time afterwards, the destruction of Alamut heralded the end of the Assassin golden age. Although the Hashshashin never regained their once-formidable level of political power, the Assassins left a lasting mark upon history, language and culture that is evident even to this day.

Related Content

Wow this is a really fascinating piece. I had never heard of this before, and usually things I find here I’ve at least got some memory of. Good digging up of info on this one. Color me impressed.

Nicki the Heinous

Posted 03 October 2007 at 08:01 am

DI! Nice going with the shiny new writers!

CrowdKiller

Posted 03 October 2007 at 08:08 am

Good job, and a DI article. Could these be the same assasins as the Thuggee that I’ve read about on another atricle on this site? Or is it just coinsidence that they remind me of each other?

orc_jr

Posted 03 October 2007 at 08:17 am

CrowdKiller said: “Good job, and a DI article. Could these be the same assasins as the Thuggee that I’ve read about on another atricle on this site? Or is it just coinsidence that they remind me of each other?”

The Assassins were not Thuggee; they were an entirely separate group, though the similarities are interesting. They do remind me of modern terrorists in that they were seemingly willing to strike anywhere at any time, regardless of the danger to themselves, which means that most of their influence came from intimidating people into avoiding a conflict altogether. Anyway, congratulations on a very interesting first submission to Mr. Cianciosi.

CrowdKiller

Posted 03 October 2007 at 08:22 am

Another thing that interests me is that it seems Islamic people (that is if I understand correctly and the assassins were Islamic) have always seemed to have that willingness to die for their faith. Modern suicide bomb attacks in th Middle East, kind of resemble the assasins willingness to die.

orc_jr

Posted 03 October 2007 at 08:32 am

CrowdKiller said: “Another thing that interests me is that it seems Islamic people (that is if I understand correctly and the assassins were Islamic) have always seemed to have that willingness to die for their faith. Modern suicide bomb attacks in th Middle East, kind of resemble the assasins willingness to die.”

The impression I got from the article is that the Assassins consisted in the beginning largely of Muslims, and were in fact founded by a Muslim man, but that later many of them converted to Christianity. That’s an interesting point you bring up about their willingness to die for their cause. The author does point out that by completing their mission they believed they assured their place in heaven. It sounds very much like what we hear today about securing 72 virgins for the afterlife.

lelandky

Posted 03 October 2007 at 08:55 am

Nice work. Although, Ali is the cousin of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, not brother. See second to last paragraph.

CrowdKiller

Posted 03 October 2007 at 09:09 am

orc_jr said: “The impression I got from the article is that the Assassins consisted in the beginning largely of Muslims, and were in fact founded by a Muslim man, but that later many of them converted to Christianity. That’s an interesting point you bring up about their willingness to die for their cause. The author does point out that by completing their mission they believed they assured their place in heaven. It sounds very much like what we hear today about securing 72 virgins for the afterlife.”

What do you mean 72 virgins for the afterlife? I’ve never heard of that before

Miss Cellania

Posted 03 October 2007 at 09:24 am

Great Scott! Great post, Scott!

Gerry Matlack

Posted 03 October 2007 at 10:32 am

“Political assassination is the sincerest form of public service.” Chun – Remo Willams: The Adventure Begins

I was struck by the similarity of the name “hashshaSHIN” to the martial art in the movie: SHINanju.

OriginalSim

Posted 03 October 2007 at 10:38 am

Louis Lamour – in one of his many Non-Western novels “The Walking Drum” does a pretty decent (if fictional) description of his main character actually going into Alamut on a rescue mission. Good to get a historic perspective – thanks!

Admiral_Dread

Posted 03 October 2007 at 10:49 am

Very interesting indeed. In some historical fiction books I’ve read it attributed Hashshashin to meaning “Followers of Hashish” (the conversation was somehow brought up while in possession of some Hashish while in the back of a military transport vehicle). Always good to get another side for a story, more so when this one makes a bit more sense and has a bit more fluff backing it up. DI.

Radiatidon

Posted 03 October 2007 at 11:01 am

Good piece. Though I did know about his power over his followers He made a signal. Instantly the white-robed figure threw up his hands in salutation, and cast himself two thousand feet into the foaming torrent which surrounded the fortress. and some minor history about the fortress Eagle’s Nest most of the information was new to me. Thanks for another insightful view into our history. Well done.

Interesting how assassin came into use. Reminds me of the origins of various other words:

Sabotage. It is derived from the Sabot, a wooden shoe worn by French workers. When mechanical looms were first introduced in France, the weavers were scared that this device would put them out of work. So the workers would toss their sabots into the machines in order to cause them to breakdown, and hopefully have the mill owners think the cost was not worth it.

Fiasco or to fail. This word derives from Italian glass makers. In creating beautiful Venetian bottle, there can be no flaws during the blowing. If the artist discovers one, or feels the bottle is below his standard, he will turn it into a common flask which in Italian is called a Fiasco

Balk. This word derives from Balca which is a beam. Before doors had key locking latches, the homestead door was braced at night by the placement of a beam of wood across it. This kept would be thieves and enemies at bay.

Easy As Pie. Some people think this originates from the ease of baking a pie. Actually its not, this is a shortened version of the original saying Easy As Eating Pie. After all, what could be more pleasant and trouble free than enjoying a good, tasty piece of home backed pie.

Ha, I got to use pie again. Speaking of which, I’m hungry. ;)

The Don

Christopher S. Putnam

Posted 03 October 2007 at 11:02 am

Gerry Matlack said: “”Political assassination is the sincerest form of public service.” Chun – Remo Willams: The Adventure Begins

I was struck by the similarity of the name “hashshaSHIN” to the martial art in the movie: SHINanju.”

How about this?

Gerry Matlack ->

Gerry Matlackshin ->

Gerry Hashshashin

Coincidence? I think not!

kip

Posted 03 October 2007 at 11:15 am

I believe this is the plot of the upcoming video game, Assassin’s Creed.

thingummy

Posted 03 October 2007 at 12:32 pm

Christopher S. Putnam said: “How about this?

Gerry Matlack ->

Gerry Matlackshin ->

Gerry Hashshashin

Coincidence? I think not!”

*snicker*

1c3d0g

Posted 03 October 2007 at 05:50 pm

CrowdKiller: you’ve got to be kidding me. Seriously, if you haven’t heard of it before, I strongly suggest broadening your knowledge by picking up a few books at the library or at least by reading one of the paragraphs in the link below:

lelandky said: “Nice work. Although, Ali is the cousin of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, not brother. See second to last paragraph.”

Q: How many Damn Interesting Writers does it take to fudge a major part of Islamic history in his first article?

A: One.

Consider it fixed.

lemon

Posted 03 October 2007 at 09:30 pm

just as an aside to this – the great British space rock band Hawkwind wrote a song many years ago called ‘Hassan -I -Sabah’ which is all about assassins and hashish

keep rockin boys!!

mohdowais

Posted 03 October 2007 at 11:53 pm

Scott, great work for a first article. Damn interesting, indeed!

I have quite a few Ismaili friends and funny none of them ever mentioned their history ;) I might have to stay a few steps away…lol!

I believe Dan Brown has a few references to Assassins in his novels, especially Angels & Demons and The Da Vinci Code. But as his writing generally goes, it is nearly impossible to figure out where history ends and fiction begins!

Anonymousx2

Posted 04 October 2007 at 03:48 am

A few points, maybe worthwhile, maybe not.

1. “The Isma’ilis of today are, mercifully, much different from their Crusades-era brethren.” I hope that you are correct, but the ferocity and tenacity of today’s fighting Muslims suggests otherwise, especially the animosity between Shiites and Sunnis.

2. For those of you who still read books, pick up “Dune” by Frank Herbert. Altogether, the series has many novels, each one worth reading. Herbert uses many Arabic terms and places his version of a mahdi on a desert planet. Actually, it’s a pretty scary series. One of its main points is that such people can never be defeated unless you eradicate them entirely. The Euro-Americans nearly did that to the Native Americans but not completely. Does anyone think that the Native Americans harbor no ill feelings for the whites stealing their land and slaughtering their people?

3. If I remember history correctly, Indira Gandi’s Muslim bodyguards assassinated her. Also, a Muslim killed Archduke Ferdinand, thereby helping to start The Great War. Both assassinations were extremely public.

4. Just now thought of this. I have always believed that Princess Diana was assassinated. When you look at the history of the English royalty, they seem to have had little trouble killing their own, and I thought that she was killed because the Queen didn’t want her former daughter-in-law to marry a Muslim. Now, I wonder if a Muslim killed Diana for other reasons.

5. My deduction: People with religious motivations are dangerous, and their type of belief doesn’t much matter. The Christians have been a violent group, too.

6. The Buddhists and Amish seem peaceful, though. I don’t know of any disagreements, fights, or wars that either group has started.

CanInternet

Posted 04 October 2007 at 04:30 am

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/72_virgins”

People forget that hese are high priced virgins. They are selected on virgenness. They are the best of the best of the best. They never give up their virginity. They lived a life and died a virgin.
So, you might get 72 true blue virgins. But do you really think that they, after a life of being a good and diehard virgin, suddenly open up to the first suicidebomber… don´t think so.
Or worse, you end up with 72 crying little girls in diapers who never grow up, because in heaven you´re dead.

CrowdKiller

Posted 04 October 2007 at 07:06 am

1c3d0g said: “CrowdKiller: you’ve got to be kidding me. Seriously, if you haven’t heard of it before, I strongly suggest broadening your knowledge by picking up a few books at the library or at least by reading one of the paragraphs in the link below:

Thank you very much for that lesson. It seems I seriously have to broaden my knowledge… I can’t think of why I’ve never heard of this before… Maybe I fell asleep the last time someone tried to “broaden my knowledge”. Still, thanks for the lesson.

HiEv

Posted 04 October 2007 at 07:35 am

Scott Cianciosi quoted: “He made a signal. Instantly the white-robed figure threw up his hands in salutation, and cast himself two thousand feet into the foaming torrent which surrounded the fortress.”

FYI, it isn’t mentioned in the article, but the section of text Scott quoted is from the opening chapter of the 1961 book Secret Societies, Yesterday and Today (a.k.a. A History of Secret Societies) by “Arkon Daraul” (probably a pseudonym.)

Yes, I own a copy of it. Envy me. ;-)

frame

Posted 04 October 2007 at 09:01 am

Anonymousx2 said: “A few points, maybe worthwhile, maybe not.

1. “The Isma’ilis of today are, mercifully, much different from their Crusades-era brethren.” I hope that you are correct, but the ferocity and tenacity of today’s fighting Muslims suggests otherwise, especially the animosity between Shiites and Sunnis.

2. For those of you who still read books, pick up “Dune” by Frank Herbert. Altogether, the series has many novels, each one worth reading. Herbert uses many Arabic terms and places his version of a mahdi on a desert planet. Actually, it’s a pretty scary series. One of its main points is that such people can never be defeated unless you eradicate them entirely. The Euro-Americans nearly did that to the Native Americans but not completely. Does anyone think that the Native Americans harbor no ill feelings for the whites stealing their land and slaughtering their people?

3. If I remember history correctly, Indira Gandi’s Muslim bodyguards assassinated her. Also, a Muslim killed Archduke Ferdinand, thereby helping to start The Great War. Both assassinations were extremely public.

4. Just now thought of this. I have always believed that Princess Diana was assassinated. When you look at the history of the English royalty, they seem to have had little trouble killing their own, and I thought that she was killed because the Queen didn’t want her former daughter-in-law to marry a Muslim. Now, I wonder if a Muslim killed Diana for other reasons.

5. My deduction: People with religious motivations are dangerous, and their type of belief doesn’t much matter. The Christians have been a violent group, too.

6. The Buddhists and Amish seem peaceful, though. I don’t know of any disagreements, fights, or wars that either group has started.”

Actually Indira Ghandi was assissinated by her Sikh bodyguards which led to many of them being persecuted and killed in the following days.

bliss

Posted 04 October 2007 at 09:18 am

Anonymousx2 said: “A few points, maybe worthwhile, maybe not.

3. If I remember history correctly, Indira Gandi’s Muslim bodyguards assassinated her. Also, a Muslim killed Archduke Ferdinand, therebye helping to start The Great War. Both assassinations were extremely public.”

Indira Gandhi was killed by her bodyguards , but they weren’t Muslims. They belonged to another faith …..
I don’t think it makes a difference whether some body is a muslim or christian… violence happens when the blind faith of people is used by certain sly minds for furthering thier own cause.

Radiatidon

Posted 04 October 2007 at 11:43 am

HiEv said: “FYI, it isn’t mentioned in the article, but the section of text Scott quoted is from the opening chapter of the 1961 book Secret Societies, Yesterday and Today (a.k.a. A History of Secret Societies) by “Arkon Daraul” (probably a pseudonym.)

Yes, I own a copy of it. Envy me. ;-)”

HiEv, Arkon Daraul is the pseudonym of Idries Shah. Born June 16, 1924 of an Afghan-Indian father and Scottish mother in Simla, India. He was privately tutored in Europe, and authored various books. Many of which are as good as A History of Secret Societies.

As a side-note, it is unknown if Hasan ibn Sabbah’s cruelty and inhumane ruthlessness has been exaggerated by the countless retelling of his tales. There is one account though, that is based on illustrations from his time.

According to the story, Hasan was seeking to empress a group of young men thinking of joining his order. He dug a pit in front of his throne and had one of his followers enter it. Filling the hole until only the man’s head remained. The evidence of the freshly distrubed earth was covered by a colorful rug, and a tray with a hole in it was placed around the man’s neck. To complete the illisioun, Hasan then poured blood around the tray, giving the apperance of a decapted head.

At this point he regained his throne and called for the young men to be brought in. He told them that as a god on Earth he controled many strong and mystical powers, even to command the dead to speak. Indicating the head on the tray before him, he commanded it to tell about how those warriors who gave their life for him, would receive the bounties of paradise.

The fedayeen’s head on the tray opened his eyes, and gushed about the glories and pleasures that his soul was enjoying since his demise. Trembleing with fear and respect, the young men fell to their knees and swore their lives to Hasan. After the men had departed, their voices excited with the false knowledge that the god on Earth had promised them paradise, Hasan severed the buried loyal fedayeen’s head and placed it on a pole so that all could see that the man was truly dead.

Hmm, just the sort of boss anyone would die to work for.

Tesseract

Posted 04 October 2007 at 01:32 pm

What I was most impressed by was the following two items combined:

“Alamut was an imposing sight. Nestled atop a 2,100m mountain with only one near-vertical approach to the fortress, the Eagle’s Nest was nearly impregnable”
and
“By 1256, the fortress was in ruins, razed to the ground by the Mongol general Hulega in an act of brutal retribution. The fortress, along with its priceless library, was completely destroyed.”

I thought DI…then read up on it and sadly it was pretty much given up without a fight.

Hysterical Woman

Posted 04 October 2007 at 01:45 pm

Gavrilo Princip, Franz Ferdinand’s assasin, wasn’t Muslim. I think you got him confused with Muhamed Mehmedbasic, who tried to kill the Archduke but lost his nerve.

tarteauxpommes

Posted 04 October 2007 at 03:56 pm

Wow! This article is fascinating. I’ve never heard of the Hashshashin, somehow. Always learn something new.

I hadn’t heard of them either, until I stumbled upon a book about them a few years ago. I was amazed that I had managed to go so many years without running into this at all. For me, it was an easy choice what I was writing my first DI article about. I’m glad people are enjoying the topic as much as I did.

Milkman76

Posted 04 October 2007 at 07:37 pm

Scott Cianciosi quoted: “He made a signal. Instantly the white-robed figure threw up his hands in salutation, and cast himself two thousand feet into the foaming torrent which surrounded the fortress.”

Okay, I feel obliged to point this out. This bares a striking resemblance to a scene in Conan the Barbarian.

supercalafragalistic

Posted 04 October 2007 at 09:09 pm

Anonymousx2,
Very good points! Especially about Diana. It makes sense.
Anonymousx2 #21
“6. The Buddhists and Amish seem peaceful, though. I don’t know of any disagreements, fights, or wars that either group has started. ”
Just wanted to comment on your comment that Amish people have a history of and a culture that supports physically abusing their children. Saw it on 20/20 a few years back. It’s that whole spare the rod and spoil the child mentality.

bliss,
I loved your comment so much!

“I don’t think it makes a difference whether some body is a muslim or christian… violence happens when the blind faith of people is used by certain sly minds for furthering thier own cause. ”

I don’t like religion a whole lot because of groups like this, plus I don’t like anyone telling me what to do. I believe there is something cosmic and good out there, but I don’t think religion is the contemporary thing that we need to describe what is around us. Science can tell us why the sky is blue and why the grass is green. If there are still things that people want to explain away as because god made it that way– I would say we are in need of more science.

In the United States suicide is considered murder, and attempted suicide is technically attempted murder, right? By law can’t you get punished for attempted suicide and if you do commit suicide don’t you lose certain tax and estate benefits after death that non-suicide deaths do get? I’m shaky on these details, so someone help me out here. My question then would be that if anyone in America were a member of a cult or group where suicide was a possiblity, then could they be breaking some kind of law?

Actually, I was aware that Idries Shah is strongly suspected of being “Arkon Daraul,” but I’m not aware of anything more than circumstantial evidence that supports that claim. Shah had disciples that emulated his style, including the use of pseudonyms, so that makes it hard to figure out for sure who wrote some of the so-called “Shah-School” materials. Do you have a source you could point me to which backs your claim up? I wouldn’t mind updating the Wikipedia entry on Arkon Daraul if you do.

cybrbeast

Posted 05 October 2007 at 05:05 am

Nice article but:

Scott Cianciosi said: These theories are further discredited by the fact that someone under the influence of hashish would not have possessed the mental capacities to carry out a calculated murder effectively.

This is ridiculous, it’s not like you become some kind of brain dead retard after smoking hashish. On the contrary sometimes your senses are heightened and concentration improved.

Anonymousx2

Posted 05 October 2007 at 05:32 am

frame wrote: “Actually Indira Ghandi was assissinated by her Sikh bodyguards which led to many of them being persecuted and killed in the following days.”

Thanks. I knew this but somehow messed it up. One point still remains: Religious motivations can be dangerous.

Richard Solensky

Posted 05 October 2007 at 06:18 am

Hmm…..

So a splinter sect of Islam uses terror tactics to further its political ends, and isn’t stopped until they attack the wrong party and their mountain base is obliterated by the most powerful army in the world (at the time)…..

Very interesting…….

Radiatidon

Posted 05 October 2007 at 09:07 am

HiEv said: “Actually, I was aware that Idries Shah is strongly suspected of being “Arkon Daraul,” but I’m not aware of anything more than circumstantial evidence that supports that claim.”

HiEv I’m sorry that I don’t have concrete evidence. My source was a fellow author, originally from India, who claimed to know Idries Shah, and whom has works published by Octogon Press. Octogon Press, as you probably know, was founded by Shah. This author returned to India last year and I have not seen him since.

His local phone number has been canceled, and I lost his cell number (due to a harddrive failure from a hack-attack – goes to show one should backup information daily.) I made some calls and verified that he still owns his local home. So if and when he should return, and if by chance I should be able to contact him, I will dig deeper into the well and see if his claims sound valid.

Anonymousx2

Posted 06 October 2007 at 07:02 am

On this day in history: October 6, 1981: Egyptian president Anwar el-Sadat is assassinated by Muslim extremists during a military parade. In 1977 Sadat had traveled to Jerusalem in an attempt to seek a permanent peace settlement with Israel.

tarteauxpommes

Posted 06 October 2007 at 09:46 am

Ooooooooh, coincidental!

That’s one hell of a view their fortress has.

Eponymous

Posted 06 October 2007 at 08:33 pm

CrowdKiller said: “Another thing that interests me is that it seems Islamic people (that is if I understand correctly and the assassins were Islamic) have always seemed to have that willingness to die for their faith. Modern suicide bomb attacks in th Middle East, kind of resemble the assasins willingness to die.”

I think the assassins’ devotion to their cause is rooted more in the “cult of personality” surrounding their highly charasmatic leader Hassan-i-Sabah. This explains the legend about him giving the signal and one of his followers jumping off the cliff in a display of the ultimate sacrifice to him and his cause. The emphasis of this story was that all the other Muslim leaders of the region (including the Persian emperor) couldn’t claim such a devotion among their followers, so they had better watch out for Hassan.

Whether its 11th century Persia or modern day Palestine, you can’t explain suicide attacks in terms of religious devotion alone. Of course the attackers see their sacrifice and reward in terms of their religion, but there is a psychological cult dynamic at work here. This is why there are not 1 billion Muslims blowing themselves up right now instead of the handful that actually are.

Aero

Posted 06 October 2007 at 10:29 pm

Anonymousx2 said: “A few points, maybe worthwhile, maybe not.

5. My deduction: People with religious motivations are dangerous, and their type of belief doesn’t much matter. The Christians have been a violent group, too.
“

Actually, according to Hobbes, religion keeps people in order and tell people what morals are. But anyways, I’m Christian, and Christianity isn’t dangerous. It helps keeps morals but it is true that people with religious motivations can become dangerous.

supercalafragalistic said: “Anonymousx2,

Just wanted to comment on your comment that Amish people have a history of and a culture that supports physically abusing their children. Saw it on 20/20 a few years back. It’s that whole spare the rod and spoil the child mentality.

“I don’t think it makes a difference whether some body is a muslim or christian… violence happens when the blind faith of people is used by certain sly minds for furthering thier own cause. ”

I don’t like religion a whole lot because of groups like this, plus I don’t like anyone telling me what to do. I believe there is something cosmic and good out there, but I don’t think religion is the contemporary thing that we need to describe what is around us. Science can tell us why the sky is blue and why the grass is green. If there are still things that people want to explain away as because god made it that way– I would say we are in need of more science.
“

Just about the Amish people. Spanking a child isn’t always bad. It is keeping them from doing wrong things, however, as a Deist, I suppose your morals are not as defined as religous people(not hating on athiests or such). Also, you should judge all religion by one group. That’s just silly. Only a very small percentage of muslims are terrorists, contrary to the media because they tend to blow up the whole stereotype to all people. Religion is a good things, gives people morals(I am aware of violent religions, however, they do not exist as commonly as before). Science is good, but as shown in the examples of the discovery of cesium and radium by Madam Curie(ex. Radium Girls I believed the article here was called), it can also be dangerous.

tednugentkicksass

Posted 06 October 2007 at 10:39 pm

Anonymousx2 said: “2. For those of you who still read books, pick up “Dune” by Frank Herbert. Altogether, the series has many novels, each one worth reading. Herbert uses many Arabic terms and places his version of a mahdi on a desert planet. Actually, it’s a pretty scary series. One of its main points is that such people can never be defeated unless you eradicate them entirely.”

Seconded– my favorite sci-fi series. Although it must be noted that the zensunnis are kind of the good guys in the books. Continuation of the human race and all that.

Radiatidon said: “HiEv I’m sorry that I don’t have concrete evidence. My source was a fellow author, originally from India, who claimed to know Idries Shah, and whom has works published by Octogon Press. Octogon Press, as you probably know, was founded by Shah. This author returned to India last year and I have not seen him since.”

Just wondering… do you know Superman too? Just wanted to note that Ratiadon and HiEv’s posts are always worth reading– two very sharp people there.

Back to the article… great work Scott. I’ve always found it odd that “hashish” and “assassin” supossedly have common roots. It’s just always seemed like a bit of a smear campaign to me (though I am most definantly NOT an etymologist).

Anonymousx2

Posted 07 October 2007 at 06:12 am

tednugentkicksass said: “Seconded– my favorite sci-fi series. Although it must be noted that the zensunnis are kind of the good guys in the books. Continuation of the human race and all that.”

I agree. Do you think that Herbert intended for the more violent and aggressive sections of American society/politics to be represented by the Harkonnens?

Similarly, do you think that virtually any highly technological society (most of the U.S.A., Japan, most of Europe, etc.) is supposed to be represented by the Borg of Star Trek? This is, indeed, on the topic. In this case, technologically advanced societies frequently seem to prey upon and absorb the less advanced cultures. Instead of the takeover (even when it is violent) being fueled by religious zeal, it seems that it is done dispassionately. The motivation, though, for both groups seems to be identical: complete control.

Your opinion, Ted?

Hoekstes

Posted 08 October 2007 at 03:38 am

Can you still hire these guys? Does anybody have a phone number?

HiEv

Posted 08 October 2007 at 05:42 am

Aero said: “Actually, according to Hobbes, religion keeps people in order and tell people what morals are. But anyways, I’m Christian, and Christianity isn’t dangerous.”

Tell that to all of the people killed by Christians during the Crusades, the Inquisitions, the various witch hunts, at abortion clinics, or to the women and slaves whose freedoms were abridged, and other such immoral events propagated in the name of Christianity. No, Christianity can be quite dangerous, especially when unchecked by government.

Aero said: “It helps keeps morals but it is true that people with religious motivations can become dangerous.”

Hence Christianity can be dangerous.

That being said, it’s not just religions, but any philosophy that attempts to justify the oppression and/or murder of people can be dangerous. Some of the greatest massacres of people have been under secular or atheistic philosophies, namely Stalinism and Communism under Stalin and Pol Pot. (And I say this as an atheist.) On the other hand, Hitler was a Christian (though admittedly an odd sort of Christian,) but it was really Nazism that inspired much of the killing (though Christianity had some influence on and helped support his particular hatred of Jews.)

On the other hand, one does not need a religion in order to have morals and ethics. I, for example, am a secular humanist. It’s not a religion, but a general philosophy that emphasizes reason, ethics, and justice. Sadly, I’ve met people who seriously claim that non-religious atheists can’t have morals. Fortunately they are sorely mistaken.

Aero said: “Religion is a good things, gives people morals(I am aware of violent religions, however, they do not exist as commonly as before).”

But those morals are haphazard, often selected and interpreted in wildly different ways depending on who they are being interpreted by and when/where they are being interpreted. The Bible says that it is moral to stone someone to death for picking up sticks on the Sabbath (Numbers 15:32-36). Is this a good moral value that should be embraced and taught to our children? I doubt you’ll find anyone who says “yes” here in the modern world.

I find that most people pick and choose which morals from the Bible they choose to follow, which says to me that people can judge what is or is not moral for themselves, thus the Bible ends up being mostly unnecessary in the formation of morals (though it does have a few good ones.) You either accept all of the Bibles various moral laws, or you admit that humans can determine what is and is not moral without (or in spite of) religion. Fortunately I’ve met few Christians who, for example, follow any of the laws meant to oppress women (whom are basically treated as second class citizens at best, or chattel at worst, in the Bible.)

Aero said: “Science is good, but as shown in the examples of the discovery of cesium and radium by Madam Curie(ex. Radium Girls I believed the article here was called), it can also be dangerous.”

Science is not meant to be a system of morals, however it is only through the application of science that we discovered cesium and radium to be dangerous. I should note that they were dangerous even before they were scientifically discovered. Science did not make them dangerous, and people got radiation poisoning even before science discovered what was happening.

Better yet, through the methods of science we can examine and predict the effects on society that might occur with various systems of morals, which may allow us to discover a far better systems of ethics. The point is, science is a tool, not a religion, nor does it claim to be one.

adastra

Posted 08 October 2007 at 07:14 am

This is ridiculous, it’s not like you become some kind of brain dead retard after smoking hashish. On the contrary sometimes your senses are heightened and concentration improved.

Thanks Cybrbeast! In general, the article was DI but Scott, you should not make blanket assumptions about something you obviously know very little about.

Franz Ferdinand was killed by a Serb, who are generally Orthodox Christians, not a Muslim.

2Tense

Posted 08 October 2007 at 02:09 pm

I heard this Assasin story before. But it did involve hash.
Appearently (from what I hear) the leader would get the other to smoke hash, eventually the other would burn out and fall asleep. He’d then pick him up, and bring him to a cave decorated with gold and the such, possibly naked woman, and tell them that this was Heaven, and if they ever wanted to return they’d have to listen and obey him. They than agreed, smoked more hash, burned out and passed out again and get dragged out of the cave.
And as someone who has smoked some hash (but never killed anyone) the smoking of it won’t prevent anyone from being capable of killing, especially with a higher and higher (no pun intended) tolerance.
Good read though.
I just wonder how long before the Muslims are no longer scapgoats? 10 yrs? 20? 50?
Cause it was only about 40 for the Russians.

Silverhill

Posted 08 October 2007 at 03:50 pm

As long as the Muslim extremists receive tacit support—when their fellows fail to oppose them, in any effective manner—or even explicit support, there will be problems with them. Those who, say, behead innocent journalists and gleefully show the process to the world via videotape; or those who, say, turn airliners full of innocent people into skyscraper-destroying bombs, are not scapegoats. A scapegoat is a selected, innocent victim upon whom to place blame….

Xirxes82

Posted 08 October 2007 at 06:56 pm

adastra said: “This is ridiculous, it’s not like you become some kind of brain dead retard after smoking hashish. On the contrary sometimes your senses are heightened and concentration improved.

Thanks Cybrbeast! In general, the article was DI but Scott, you should not make blanket assumptions about something you obviously know very little about.”

Methinks some people need to take their own advice. While you can certainly make the argument that cannabis can improve one’s creativity, it also comes with a massive number of side effects that would make it a stupid choice for an assassin. Seriously take five minutes on the intertubes and you can amass a large number of reasons why hashish would be an idiotic choice as a drug to put your precision killers on. These men had to be completely alert and focused on their job. It wasn’t a “push a button and explode” thing, it was an “allay suspicion long enough to get in close, then kill a man with a small blade” thing.

While hash is known to increase reaction time amongst users, it’s hardly something to be counted on. The last thing you want is someone paranoid, anxious or fearful. Certainly not someone whose concentration/memory is impaired or whose perception is screwed up. Do you really think a control freak like Hassan would inject such an uncontrollable variable into an operation that may have been months if not years in the making?

wh44

Posted 09 October 2007 at 02:09 am

Silverhill said: “As long as the Muslim extremists receive tacit support—when their fellows fail to oppose them, in any effective manner—or even explicit support, there will be problems with them. Those who, say, behead innocent journalists and gleefully show the process to the world via videotape; or those who, say, turn airliners full of innocent people into skyscraper-destroying bombs, are not scapegoats. A scapegoat is a selected, innocent victim upon whom to place blame….”

Muslims, both individually and collectively, are taking stands against terrorism all the time. Unfortunately, that doesn’t make good news, so you won’t see it unless you’re looking for it.

Xirxes82: I had heard a similar story about hashish being used to motivate the assassins – in the telling I heard, hashish was only allowed on very special occasions. I don’t think the assassin would be significantly affected if they only smoked hashish once or twice a year.

adastra

Posted 09 October 2007 at 07:38 am

Xirxes82 said: Methinks some people need to take their own advice. While you can certainly make the argument that cannabis can improve one’s creativity, it also comes with a massive number of side effects that would make it a stupid choice for an assassin. Seriously take five minutes on the intertubes and you can amass a large number of reasons why hashish would be an idiotic choice as a drug to put your precision killers on. Here I did the work for you: Side Effects of Hash include; relaxation, altered perception, paranoia, dilated pupils, impaired concentration & memory, increased heart rate, fear & anxiety.

Thanks for doing that “work” for me. But I can take five minutes on the “intertubes” and amass a large number of reasons why… well you name it, whether it be reasonable or ridiculous, and I can amass a large number of reasons for damn near anything from people that know little about whatever subject.

These men had to be completely alert and focused on their job. It wasn’t a “push a button and explode” thing, it was an “allay suspicion long enough to get in close, then kill a man with a small blade” thing. Do you really think a control freak like Hassan would inject such an uncontrollable variable into an operation that may have been months if not years in the making?”

If hashish was ever used by the assassins I assume they didn’t spend months or years during the ‘setup’ with a bong, watching desperate housewives. But for the final push? A little paranoia could be a good thing. Paranoia can wonderfully enhance perceptions. And even paranoids have enemies.

While hash is known to increase reaction time amongst users, it’s hardly something to be counted on.

I assume you meant ‘decrease’ reaction time.

I don’t do any drugs, now, but I have extensive previous, personal, experience from before. And I doubt you or Scott do. My experience is that when you alter/enhance your consciousness with some drugs (not all) it can affect you in any way that you have the strength of will to determine.

supercalafragalistic

Posted 10 October 2007 at 04:56 am

Anonymousx2 said: “Religious motivations can be dangerous.”

Completely agreed on that one!

HiEv said: “Christianity can be quite dangerous, especially when unchecked by government. Hence Christianity can be dangerous…..That being said, it’s not just religions, but any philosophy that attempts to justify the oppression and/or murder of people can be dangerous…. one does not need a religion in order to have morals and ethics. I, for example, am a secular humanist. It’s not a religion, but a general philosophy that emphasizes reason, ethics, and justice. Sadly, I’ve met people who seriously claim that non-religious atheists can’t have morals. Fortunately they are sorely mistaken…… Science is not meant to be a system of morals, however it is only through the application of science that we discovered cesium and radium to be dangerous. I should note that they were dangerous even before they were scientifically discovered. Science did not make them dangerous, and people got radiation poisoning even before science discovered what was happening…… Better yet, through the methods of science we can examine and predict the effects on society that might occur with various systems of morals, which may allow us to discover a far better systems of ethics. The point is, science is a tool, not a religion, nor does it claim to be one.”

Hi Ev- I didn’t quote your whole piece here to save space, but I really liked everything that you wrote above and appreciate your dilligent manner in which you addressed many aspects of this idea and broader issues at hand.

All kind of extremism, be it religious or non-religious in nature, are dangerous.

The religious ones just have a label (islam, christian, etc), which makes it more visible & easier to blame on.

Skydive

Posted 11 October 2007 at 09:22 am

Hey – long time reader, first time poster. Great website – I get to amaze my friends and family with a bunch of random facts!

All I want to say here … is that I think there is a LOT of ignorance in the ‘Western world’ regarding Islam and its followers. I should know … raised in Australia, a stone’s throw from one of the most populous Muslim nations in the world and I knew next to zero about them/it. I have corrected this gap in my knowledge and am all the richer for it.

I find it frustrating at times reading postings here when you can tell the people writing it have no idea about the cultures they are talking about. And there is a hell of a lot of people that seem to get religion involved in debates where it really doesn’t belong …

Anonymousx2

Posted 17 October 2007 at 04:16 am

Last comment?

wh44

Posted 17 October 2007 at 06:07 am

Anonymousx2 said: “Last comment?”

Nope.

Anonymousx2

Posted 22 October 2007 at 04:32 am

wh44 said: “Nope.”

As I just posted in a previous article, thanks for playing along. You’ve caught on to my idea.

Last.

chudez

Posted 23 October 2007 at 09:26 pm

Tesseract said: “What I was most impressed by was the following two items combined:

“Alamut was an imposing sight. Nestled atop a 2,100m mountain with only one near-vertical approach to the fortress, the Eagle’s Nest was nearly impregnable”

and

“By 1256, the fortress was in ruins, razed to the ground by the Mongol general Hulega in an act of brutal retribution. The fortress, along with its priceless library, was completely destroyed.”

I thought DI…then read up on it and sadly it was pretty much given up without a fight.”

While they were fearsome assassins, they weren’t a military force to reckon with. And even if they had a conventional military force, the Mongols were pretty bad-ass during that era; they were the era’s superpower that no one in their right mind f**ked with.

DaGooez

Posted 25 October 2007 at 04:25 am

Anonymousx2 said:

“6. The Buddhists and Amish seem peaceful, though. I don’t know of any disagreements, fights, or wars that either group has started.”

you can never trust those damn amish. they’re just a horse and buggy away from eating your young. And the buddhists…jeez, kill them and they just come back as someone else! They are un-eradicatable (I think I just made that word up. Upon future use, please send royalties to gooez18@yahoo.com)

mortalsync

Posted 12 November 2007 at 03:28 am

I’ve heard things similar to this, but in actuality, I don’t believe they were able to get in and out so “sneaky-like”. I read in another blog that they were good at escaping, but not actually getting in quietly. More like: Break through the windows, kill the target, and get out. Never caught.

dacoobob

Posted 19 November 2007 at 01:25 am

Anonymousx2 said: “6. The Buddhists and Amish seem peaceful, though. I don’t know of any disagreements, fights, or wars that either group has started.”

FYI, the Amish are Christians. And SE Asia (especiallly Thailand) has seen (and still sees) plenty of Buddhist-vs.-Muslim violence– as for who “started it,” that depends on who you ask.

Perfectwill105

Posted 05 December 2007 at 10:40 am

orc_jr said: “The impression I got from the article is that the Assassins consisted in the beginning largely of Muslims, and were in fact founded by a Muslim man, but that later many of them converted to Christianity. That’s an interesting point you bring up about their willingness to die for their cause. The author does point out that by completing their mission they believed they assured their place in heaven. It sounds very much like what we hear today about securing 72 virgins for the afterlife.”

(first, I just want anyone who sees this to know I don’t think I’m perfect, I got the name from Perfect Dark for the Nintendo 64 x-amount of years ago and I don’t trust my memory enough to change it) When you said “The author does point out that by completing their mission they assured their place in heaven,” it brought to mind an assassin sect of radical Amida Buddhists. They train their entire lives in weapons proficiency, gymnastics and acrobatics, ninjutsu, etc., and all of it over so many years is to hone them into weapons. The Amida Buddhist’s life of training is entirely focused toward one goal: to assassinate a mark. The Buddhists’ cost a fortune to employ and all proceeds go to the training of more members, and once the Buddhist receives his/her orders to kill, he/she is, upon finishing the job, meant to commit suicide and go to nirvana as a god/goddess, apparently skipping the many lifetimes of birth, death, and reincarnation to develop perfect karma in order to be hurried on to the spirit world. The Assassins remind me of the Amida Buddhists in that they are devoted to a single cause, are highly skilled in their many crafts, and consider their lives as basically forfeit.

Perfectwill105

Posted 05 December 2007 at 10:44 am

DaGooez said: “you can never trust those damn amish. they’re just a horse and buggy away from eating your young. And the buddhists…jeez, kill them and they just come back as someone else! They are un-eradicatable (I think I just made that word up. Upon future use, please send royalties to gooez18@yahoo.com)”

I like that word. I’ll be sure to namedrop you if I ever use it. But Buddhists–most of us–work hard to sharpen our minds and dull our unpleasant emotions (i.e. hate, jealousy, anger) in a lifelong pursuit of enlightenment and compassion. : )

kittykactus

Posted 22 December 2007 at 04:19 pm

DI, indeed!
What a fantastic story. I love dramatic, historic stories that have a large affect on our cultures. Very nice.

altair

Posted 13 February 2008 at 02:55 pm

to: Scott Cianciosi
tru, I read this History about assasins becouse I play the game and i love it. So i don’t know if you now about this game. But is hard to know what is true and what is not. at the beginin of the game show a legend “This game is based on a true History whit a differents cultures” or something like that. so if you don’t have played that game joust checkitout and tellme what you
think.

Watcher

Posted 29 February 2008 at 11:35 am

Very interesting indeed. I was inspired to follow a few links and came across an interesting account of what happened after Hasan. You’ll find it here

To the person who asked earlier about the link between the Assassins and the Thuggs, this article at least claims there is.

FeldMarshall

Posted 04 July 2008 at 12:02 am

First I should thank you for the excellent article.

I want to remind a few points in the article:

1.The nobleman you mentioned in the first paragraph may be Sultan Sanjar,one of Seljuq kings,who wanted to destroy ismai’li fortresses and what the Hashshashin did made him not to do that.

2.Hassan-i-Sabah was born in iran,the city named Rey which is a part of Tehran now.He was Iranian.

3.He went to Neyshabour and studied in Imam Movafagh Neyshabouri’s School.There he met Omar-i-Khayam and Hassan-i-Tousi(who became Malik Shah’s prime minister and finally killed by one of Hashshashin named Bu Taher Avani).They promised if one if them become an important person help the other ones.When Hassan-i-Tousi became the prime minister invited them to the palace and gave them what they wanted,He gave Khayam a salary of 3000 gold coins per year and gave Hassan-i-Sabah a job in the government.After some years he became a very important person but he obliged to leave the government because of the conspiracy Hassan-i-Tousi(Nezam ol Molk) prepared.he went to Cairo and find it a good city but when he knew about the government and the military commanders who had much power in Egypt he went back to Iran(also he was in jail for a short time).There,in Egypt,he knew about isma’ilia and chose that religion.When he came back to Iran started to spread the religion.After ten year he determined to find a place for his followers and he chose Alamut.One of his followers went into the castle and became a guard and opened the gate for them and they captured the castle(when he captured the castle said:”we don’t want to say our prayers in an usurped place,so we want to buy it in the price of leather which is as large as the castle “and the owner agreed.Then he made a narrow strip of leather and turned it around the castle and bought very cheap)

4.They were called Hashshashin because hey made medicines like willow substance(I don’t know the exact translation of johar bid,it’s similar to aspirin we use now),alcohol and medicines out of borage.Hashish meant medicine those days and the men who made it were called Hashshash(sth like pharmacist) and the word”Hashshashin” is arabic plural form of Hashshash.It’s hard to think that who use drugs could performed those perfect assassinations.(each time a man use hashish in a usual amount it kills about 100,000 gray cells in first few minutes)

5.It’s hard to consider that those beautiful gardens where built on the top of mountains where he climate is not suitable enough to make those gardens.I think it was the matter of there faith.

Perfectwill105 said: “When you said “The author does point out that by completing their mission they assured their place in heaven,” it brought to mind an assassin sect of radical Amida Buddhists. They train their entire lives in weapons proficiency, gymnastics and acrobatics, ninjutsu, etc., and all of it over so many years is to hone them into weapons. The Amida Buddhist’s life of training is entirely focused toward one goal: to assassinate a mark.”

I have no idea where you got your information from, but while there is actually a buddhist sect with that name, there is no indication that they have anything to do with assasinations of any kind.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amitabha

ThatWhiteKid

Posted 23 June 2009 at 08:41 pm

Wow, this is really cool!

This is definitely the base of the game Assassin’s Creed, as mentioned before, very interesting. You character’s home is at the castle in Masyaf. Saladin and Richard the Lionhearted are mentioned a lot, too. In the beginning, you do a leap of faith off a cliff for your leader into a pile of hey in front of the Crusader army that was attacking the castle :)

The makers of Assassin’s Creed definitely read this article!!!

Museful

Posted 08 September 2013 at 09:10 am

Assad should be hassaninated. I mean assadinated. I mean assasinated. These guys could have solved the whole problem in Syria today. Or maybe they engineered it in the first place.

Mehrin

Posted 01 February 2014 at 12:50 am

CrowdKiller said: “Another thing that interests me is that it seems Islamic people (that is if I understand correctly and the assassins were Islamic) have always seemed to have that willingness to die for their faith. Modern suicide bomb attacks in th Middle East, kind of resemble the assasins willingness to die.”

True the assassins were willing to die for their faith but there is no comparision between the assassins and today’s sucide bombers. Assassins always had a logical reason behind the attacks. I am saying this because I had a lot of research on Assassins.

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